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Post by Maelstrom on Sept 26, 2014 14:08:09 GMT -6
"-one of ‘em may be our way out,” Lysander piped in over comms.
"Nothing of interest here so far," Maelstrom reported. "And I've only run into a few patrols worth dealing with. I'm getting close to the objective, but I'm still a bit out."
Thinking of what Lysander said about the remote controlled shuttles, Maelstrom called, "Anelya, how are things looking outside?"
"Nothing of interest except that explosion in the shuttle bay. It was quite a sight," the asari reported. Hesitation in her voice, she said, "I wanted to let you know, though... we detected a transmission from one of the team's comms units. It cut right through the jamming signal, though the Vengeance couldn't determine the sender or the area from which it was transmitted."
The news unsettled Maelstrom, but it was not his most immediate concern, being separated from the rest of the group.
"Lysander, our signals will start blazing on the internal sensors like signal flares before long. If you have anything else to ask, you should do it quick and then re-engage jamming."
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Post by Joe Fischer on Sept 27, 2014 4:42:40 GMT -6
The only thing about Bridges’ response that surprised Joe was the intensity of it. But then again, he was one of those “quiet” types, people who suppressed their emotions until it got to be too much and they just exploded.
On the other hand, this was the geth…
****
“Congratulations, Joe! An N7, I can’t believe it!” gushed Jackie Royals, a fellow Marine who had gone through basic training with him.
She was a single mother who had joined up at the age of thirty, something virtually unheard of. She was barely under the maximum allowed weight and passed the initial entry physical fitness test by the skin of her teeth—and she had been assigned to the squad he was in. Instead of belittling her like everyone else on the squad, he helped her out in the limited free time they had. Ten weeks later, she graduated over twenty pounds lighter and passing the physical fitness test with flying colors.
“Excuse me, congratulations, Staff Sergeant,” she said, casting her eyes downward. In the military, calling someone by their first name was highly unusual; most were addressed by their rank or last name.
“Knock it off, Jackie,” he said. “Call me ‘Staff Sergeant’ again and I’m going to start acting like one. What about you, what’s new with you?”
As she was a personnel clerk and he was infantry, their careers had taken them in different directions, but they still kept in touch; he even sent presents to her daughter on her birthday and Christmas.
“Just arrived at my new assignment,” she said. “The 212th on Eden Prime. It’s beautiful here, Joe, you should come by when you get some leave…”
When he heard about the attack, he immediately checked the casualty list—and then wept for three days straight.
***** He turned the head until he was staring it in the eye, considering his employer’s order. “No, I don’t think so,” he said calmly.
Before Bridges could start throwing his weight around, Joe continued, “Don’t get me wrong, I have no love for them either. But I’m not going to pass up a souvenir like this. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
"What the hell is going on?" Maelstrom suddenly burst in over the comms. "Are we under attack from outside the base or are we just deciding to make a bad day for ourselves? Bridges, when you're content that everything that needs to be said has been, you can re-engage jamming with our secondary signal."
And that, boys and girls, is the sound of a mission going sideways...
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Post by Esteban Bridges on Sept 27, 2014 10:28:45 GMT -6
"....then re-engage jamming."
Esteban frowned, shaking his head. Lysander is about to engage the Collectors with Iskra, if he heard right. It was a time for combat, not questions. He took a breath before speaking again. "No more questions or conversation. Rescue team is in a combat situation. This is a distraction. Esteban out."
Esteban muted his radio's microphone and looked at the display on his omnitool to see the progress of the decryption. It was 80% completed. No additional problems with the process presented itself. At least there's that, he thought. But the other issue at hand...
"The Geth you are holding is not dead," Esteban said carefully, trying to measure his words. "The Geth is AI. Intelligent programming that hates organic life. All it would take is one mistake and it could seize control over your armor and shut down your life support. Or it might wait until it is back on the ship. I shudder to think what it can do there.
The only way to destroy the AI is to destroy the hardware that contains the AI. That is not a trophy in your hands. That is something that will kill innocents the moment it has a chance."
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Post by Joe Fischer on Sept 27, 2014 14:10:50 GMT -6
Joe would never admit it, but Bridges did have a point. As much as he wanted to keep it, he wouldn't if it posed a threat. He activated his omnitool and scanned the head.
"All right, it does have a power source, but it's depleted, and there's a transmitter in good condition," he reported. "I think I can fix that."
He converted the omnitool into an omniblade, sliced open the shell covering the transmitter, then reached in and tore it out. "There, problem solved," he said. "We need to get going, are you done with the panel?"
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Post by Esteban Bridges on Sept 27, 2014 19:15:59 GMT -6
Esteban shook his head.
"I need three more minutes," he responded, looking away from the Geth head. Inert or no, that thing was grotesque to the him. He stared at his omnitool's display instead. "Need to make sure the decryption software is functional."
He did not want to look over at Joseph right now. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. And another deep breath. And another, each time taking in the filtered air from his life support system. The air was cool and refreshing.
A quiet beep rung in his helmet. He opened up his eyes and read through the files and opened up a couple of video files. It showed a well dressed Asari talking to a sizable Collector. He stared at the file. Esteban never saw a Collector that size before. It almost looked like it was glowing. And the woman's stance was assertive. A prisoner would not behave that way.
He glanced through the files, hoping to find her name. He was not disappointed. Matriarch Lidanya. He looked back at the video. She was laughing, gently placing her hand on the Collector's chest. Flirting?
"Joseph. Karn. Take a look at this. What do you make of it?"
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Post by Weyrloc Karn on Sept 27, 2014 20:37:43 GMT -6
Karn peers his head over, not paying too much attention previously to both humans squabble over quarian-made technology. Geth or not, it wasn't something to make that much of a fuss over.. Then again, what did he know about their prior adventures before his arrival? Not much, he would suppose. He watches the screen, the matriarch and collectors catching his attention cautiously, but still in slight confusion. It was something he had no idea about, but decided to leave his curiosities to the side. He was the outsider to the bigger picture, the last person to know anything up to this point. It didn't hinder him, but it brought a small deal of annoyance..
*****
"The kid seems viable, not much for a battlemaster but I've seen worse runts out of the pack..", grumbles the warlock, his eyes glaring towards the group of young krogans, watching a display of brute force, training for the fittest.
"Not all that expendable as the rest, but that one seems to understand his place.. Would make an excellent part of the clan. If he lives that long..", the shaman bellows out to the other, a laugh and a slap across his knee. The two seemed keen on a single youth in that group, the potential of a battlemaster was something unique at this point in time.. A rarity? A curse? A lack of an answer was all to be had.
There wasn't much to consider at the time, but it was a simple tool for an overall gain. The youth didn't seem to understand what his situation was, but he accepted it. He felt detatched from the world, it's people, the masters stepping against his back. Yet there was never a hint of distrust, distress.. Loyal obedience and blind acceptance was all was demanded. The satisfaction of the first skull popped under his boot soon became background noise to the carnage. For him, his life seemed empty, as if he never lived it at all...
*****
"Beats the hell outta' me on this one, bossman..", the krogan would grunt out, his raspy tone confused to what was witnessed on screen.
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Post by Joe Fischer on Sept 28, 2014 22:21:11 GMT -6
"If I didn't know better, I'd swear she was seducing him--or at least trying to," Joe said.
The image of them being intimate flashed through his mind, and he shuddered. After taking a moment to regain his composure, he focused back on the video.
"Okay, she isn't tied down to a table, so that means she isn't a prisoner," he said. "As for the Collector, Shepard mentioned ones like that in his interview; he called them 'Generals'. Now, if their rank structure is anything like ours, this general isn't going to waste his time with a peon, so that makes her important, probably a matriarch. Which, of course, leads to The Super Big Mega Ultra Important Question: is she doing this on her own, or is she speaking for all of her people?"
He shuddered again, this time at the possible implications of what he was seeing. And then one fact made itself painfully obvious to him.
"But until we get out of here, it really doesn't mean a damn thing," he said. "So, you done with the panel, boss? Can we move on?"
If we somehow get out of this, galactic politics may just get a LOT more interesting...
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Post by Eric Lysander on Sept 29, 2014 11:05:09 GMT -6
"....then re-engage jamming… no more questions or conversation. Rescue team is in a combat situation. This is a distraction. Esteban out."
Eric backpedaled to Morgan’s position, looking all about him to see that no Seekers had crawled out of the hive as yet. He came up very close so his external speakers would not alert the insects to his presence.
“How’s that door comin?”
[Insert Morgan’s response/comment]
“Once it’s shut we’re goin’ after Iskra; she throws a mean biotic swing but even that won’t stop someone from gettin’ off a lucky shot. Aside from the doors I’ve got an idea or two for throwin’ the enemy off our trail…”
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Post by Esteban Bridges on Sept 29, 2014 17:50:40 GMT -6
"....can we move on?"
Esteban nodded, shutting down his omnitool with a tap on his wrist. There was not anything else he could do with the panel. The readings showed the pathways were unblocked. It looked like it will lead them into a fairly sizable chamber.
"I am done here," he confirmed to Joseph, taking one final look around the lavishly decorated room. "If head off that way..." he pointed at the doorway that Joseph just came out of. "We will eventually reach a cylindrical shaped room a that is around 400 meters long, 40 meters radius. There are over 70 pathways that intersects with this room, so it is a central point for something. What, I am uncertain. We will need to exercise caution when we reach there."
Esteban gestured towards the door.
"Please," he said to Joseph again, inviting him to take the lead.
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Post by Morgan Bryn on Sept 29, 2014 19:19:31 GMT -6
One moment Morgan was plotting which doors to systematically close and Iskra was volunteering to scout ahead around the seeker swarm, and the next moment Morgan was blown to the deck in a wave of heat as the ground rocked with an explosion.
Too many thoughts raced through her brain to process along with the adrenaline dump that followed. She tried to push herself back up from the floor, but Eric grabbed her arm, tugging her forcefully back down to the deck. She was about to protest when she saw five Collectors rush past as Iskra disappeared around the far corner.
Morgan looked up at Eric. She could see his mouth moving beneath his helmet, but the comms were still jammed and his external speakers were shut off.
What the hell was he...
She frowned, shaking her head as she shrugged at him in frustrated confusion when there was a burst of static and the jamming was abruptly cut back off and Maelstrom's voice spoke up over her headset.
Morgan swore venomously under her breath as she pushed herself back to her feet, turning the volume down on her comm and resisting the urge to tear out her headset.
Meldom could be dead... Iskra was being chased by five armed Collectors... Maelstrom had run off on his own... only Morgan and Eric were left. She wanted to ask why Meldom had lagged behind... she wanted to run after Iskra to make sure the Drell wasn't overwhelmed... but instead she gritted her teeth and focused on the door that was between them and the swarm. It was a wonder the swarm hadn't burst into action the moment the explosion had occurred, but she wasn't going to take any chances.
Her hands were shaking from the adrenaline as she tried to key in the controls and she balled them into fists several times, trying to shake away the uncomfortable feeling. Morgan ignored the others as they conversed over the comm, focusing on closing the door as quickly as possible to the point where she didn't even notice the comms had been jammed once more or that Eric was now leaning right over her shoulder.
"How's that door comin?" His voice whispered softly over his external speakers, scaring her half to death.
"Athame's tits!" she swore, hoping he didn't actually see her jump before she keyed back on her external speakers once more. "Almost got it..." she reported out loud instead, chewing on her lip.
“Once it’s shut we’re goin’ after Iskra," Eric continued. "She throws a mean biotic swing but even that won’t stop someone from gettin’ off a lucky shot. Aside from the doors I’ve got an idea or two for throwin’ the enemy off our trail..."
"At this point we need all the help we can get..." Morgan mumbled, the door sliding quickly closed as she let out a small sound of triumph and quickly stood. "Alright, let's go find Iskra."
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Post by Joe Fischer on Sept 29, 2014 20:03:16 GMT -6
"You got it," Joe said as he started towards what he could only call the torture chamber.
He then turned back to Bridges. "Just a heads up boss, the next room is bad," he said. "What's that word for people who get off on the suffering of others? Whatever it is, if they saw the next room, they'd probably weep with joy."
He turned back towards the torture chamber and led them in.
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Post by Weyrloc Karn on Sept 30, 2014 7:19:34 GMT -6
"What's that word for people who get off on the suffering of others? Whatever it is, if they saw the next room, they'd probably weep with joy.", Joe would state as they head towards the room.
"That's being a sadist, if you wanted an actual answer.." Karn chuckles out as he glances around behind them incase of any sneaky threats to pop up. He turns his head towards the room once finishing, giving a slight grimace of sorts, but not like it really meant anything at the time. Regardless of how many bodies you see thrown around, how much blood squirts up the walls, the usual sight of pain and death was a usual sight for the krogan himself, probably not so much for Esteban over Fischer.
Still, he couldn't deny he'd enjoy to see the reaction is dear employer brings along to the situation. Ironic, one would suppose.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 30, 2014 9:03:33 GMT -6
Iskra flinched as bullets ate through her already flickering shield, she wasn't use to her enemies having guns, just bare fangs and claws. The young doctor panicked, knowing her shields would not protect for much longer. She had to end this quickly or run. The dark scales of her armor meshed in the shadows of the base, her form moving in and out of the spectrum of light as bullets followed her path.
She had never used the proximity mine outside of protection at night on her homeworld, using them on the go wasn't something she was use to. The button flashed as she armed the mine, the metallic sound of metal scraping metal filled the silences between gun fire.
The mine slid across the floor, landing in the middle of the group of Collectors. There was a flash of red in the air as the mine became live, detected the threat around it, and then exploded.....
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Post by Eric Lysander on Sept 30, 2014 11:00:43 GMT -6
Morgan sealed the large door before them, the Seekers still scuttling about inside seeming none the least aware of their home being invaded.
"Alright, let's go find Iskra," she said triumphantly.
Just then an explosion from around the bend got their attention. Judging from its size and force, Eric determined it was caused by a standard-issue proximity mine. He immediately ran up the corridor, drawing his sniper rifle.
“I think I know where we can find her – come on!”
Eric led Morgan up to a wall edge and had her stand just behind him as he inspected the damage. The five Collectors he spotted earlier were scattered across the floor, the two nearest the blast were smoking, pulpy remains. Groggily they began to stir and take up their weapons again. Iskra could be seen through the smoke with her blades drawn. Eric dropped on a knee, took aim and fired a round into a rising Collector’s braincase, bursting it like an overripe melon.
“Got two grunts left,” he said to Morgan, motioning for her to take position above him as he sighted the targets. “Plug ‘em! Their armor’s weak ‘round the joints and the front n’ top middle o’ their heads!”
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Post by Esteban Bridges on Sept 30, 2014 15:29:56 GMT -6
"Data," Esteban whispered into his helmet's microphone. He had no intention of looking around the next room. His eyes would focus solely on the armor in front of him and nothing else. He threw his mind elsewhere, not wanting to take in the horror surrounding him. So instead...
"Yes sir?"
"Send the following message to Maelstrom at the next window."
"Of course sir."
"Maelstrom. You are owed an apology for my comment in the landing bay. To help make amends, I acquired five Collector grenades."
"Will there be anything else, sir?"
"Yes. Send the following message to Iskra at the next window."
"Yes sir."
"Iskra. I......"
"Sir?"
"......." Esteban frowned at himself.
"Sir, I detect no malfunction in the helmet's microphone. Is there something wrong?"
"..... I think I understand something."
"Is this part of the message sir?"
"No."
"Continue composing the message sir?"
"No."
"Then what, sir?"
"I was so focused on acquiring the data that I did not think that she would want to play an active role when accessing it."
"Sir?"
"It is her life's work, Data. And it is a clue to the fate of her people. It is not right to be a passive observer."
"Yes sir. What will you do?"
"What can I do? She is needed to make sure the prisoners are healthy. And time is of the essence. Two teams are logical."
"Did you tell her this?"
"She did not give me the chance."
"You did not answer my question, sir."
"No I did not." Esteban grimaced. He programmed his VI too well.
"Is there no way to make time, sir?"
"Unknown."
"Sir?"
"The systems here are functionally independent. The only way to make time would be to coordinate the systems to seal off the Collectors to allow for easier movement. Unless..."
"Sir?"
"There is no guarantee that knowledge of the machine will be sufficient for investigating. I have to think..."
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Post by Morgan Bryn on Sept 30, 2014 17:13:06 GMT -6
Eric was already jogging up the corridor. “I think I know where we can find her – come on!”
"Aw, shit, really? Now what's exploding??" Morgan flopped her arms at her sides defeatedly before hurrying after the armored soldier.
Eric led Morgan up the corner, taking a moment to lean around and inspect the smoking hall. “Got two grunts left,” he reported, motioning for Morgan to take position as he lined up a shot with his sniper rifle. “Plug ‘em! Their armor’s weak ‘round the joints and the front n’ top middle o’ their heads!” he called out as his shot struck the nearest Collector's skull, bursting it into a pulpy spray.
Morgan made a face, looking a bit green around the edges as she pressed her back up against the wall instead. "Oh, hell no..." she mumbled, tapping a quick command in her omni-tool as the small blue sphere of a combat drone appeared before her. "Sic 'em," she commanded as the little drone zoomed off merrily down to corridor to inflict a lethal amount of electrical shock to one of the remaining Collector's skulls, sending its body sprawling limply back to the floor.
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Post by Malik Torsin on Sept 30, 2014 23:00:19 GMT -6
They definitely weren't wrong. They really are like drones., Malik mused from his cell as he watched the same Collectors patrol the hallway after dozens of nearly identical repetitions. None of them had seemed to pay any attention to the increasing cacophony echoing through the base, the sounds getting louder and punctuated by the rumble of a distant explosion. He knew a gunfight when he heard one, and a hell of a fight was working its way through the ship.
He'd begun timing explorations of his cell with the pace of their patrols-one pair, each watching half the block, passed by every thirteen minutes and forty-six, timed on his omni-tool. It had been, curiously, left with him, presumably because it wasn't much of a threat-distance and jamming rendered its traditional communication functions useless, and none of the tools or blades on it had anything close to the power required to break through the cell.
Still, it wasn't stopping him from trying. His last search had found what looked like communication cable-he wasn't an engineer by any means, but he'd learned a few tricks from one of his old fixers, and, with luck, a quick splice would get him...somewhere.
Better than waiting patiently in a cell to be dissected, and if there was any chance of getting a message out, back to the Citaldel, back to her, he was going to take it.
He counted to three as the two guards passed, then turned on the panel, popping the panel as soon as they were a few steps away. The cables lay already exposed, prepared on his last search. A few quick, albeit somewhat clumsy motions, laid them bare, and he drew them into a port on his omni-tool. He watched anxiously between the tool and the doors as the communications suite struggled to make sense of the system. He almost felt like he was making progress before the cell door opened behind him with a hiss.
He spun around to face the noise, the tool ripping out of the wall, coming face-to-face with the two patrolling guards. Maybe the severed line had alerted him, maybe it was just his turn on the schedule. But he didn't have any intention of going without a fight like the others.
With a yell, he lunged towards them, slamming one into the cell wall before driving an elbow into the other, the blow connecting with a satisfyingly sickening snap. Kicking off the one he'd tackled, he threw himself out into the hallway, greeted with two more pairs advancing on him from either end. Already, the two in the cell were recovering-Sprits, they were tough.
The ones to the right were the furthest away and the closest to the sounds of gunfire-connecting with the firefight was his best bet, even if they didn't turn out to be friendly-he couldn't bring himself to hope that she'd already been able to send a rescue party, and if she had and they were working their way through from the bottom up, they were going to have a discussion about hiring policies-he could use the chaos to escape, steal a ship or...something.
Launching himself into a sprint, he charged down the hallway at the other two, stun batons already being raised in defence. An the last second, he broke into a slide, connecting with the ankles of the left one and sending both tumbling in a heap. But he'd misjudged-he came in too close, and the second one was on him before he could break free.
Stun batons were far more painful than he remembered, or at least the Collectors were far less concerned about prisoner welfare than C-SEC had ever been. He screamed and thrashed as the batons were driven into his side, even as he tried desperately to force them off. But it was to no avail, as he slipped out of conciousness. The last thing he saw was the floor falling away as the guards dragged his limp body off the floor before everything faded to black.
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Post by Eric Lysander on Oct 1, 2014 14:28:55 GMT -6
"Sic 'em" said Morgan.
The combat drone she conjured up raced over to a Collector and fried its skull with a high voltage charge. The last soldier, spurred by the shock of its compatriot’s demise, sprang upright and aimed its rifle in Morgan’s direction.
A split-second later the rifle dropped to the floor along with its owner, half of its face missing.
Eric checked through his rifle scope to confirm that Iskra was all right as Morgan’s drone whisked back to her side. He had her follow behind him as he shuffled up to the drell scientist’s’ position, moving between the Collector corpses. Eric was used to battle with the likes of Sentinels and Infiltrators. Techs who put up a bit of a fight. While he knew Morgan was a civilian and did not expect her to be a crack shot or brandish a Cain, he thought at least she would carry some kind of small arms to get out of a tight spot.
“I hope that flyin’ joy buzzer isn’t the best you’re packin’,” he japed.
[Insert Morgan’s reaction/response]
Bobbing his head from side to side he spoke to Iskra next. “Sorry we’re late; hadda make sure we didn’t have Seekers behind us. You all right?”
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Post by dargene on Oct 1, 2014 14:46:49 GMT -6
Meldom walked through some darkened corridors using the wall for support while clutching his left side. Looking at his omnitool he quickly sent a message to Eric and hoped that it went through, maybe the explosion messed up the scrambler for a while he thought.
"Eric, heading towards prison cells, easier to meet there so we can push through at multiple angles"
He sent the message with hopes it would reach them all quickly incase they had decided to go back for him, taking a deep breath he pushed on down the corridor.
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Post by Game Master on Oct 1, 2014 14:55:02 GMT -6
[GM Post]
Eric's Squad - The battle ended as quickly as it began. All the Collectors lay dead or dying, no longer a threat to the party. - It will be a relatively easy journey to the prisoner's area (though it will take some time to get there), assuming the team wishes to rely on stealth. - If the team does not wish to rely on stealth, there will be several encounters. Please send me a message for additional details. - Maelstrom will arrive where the prisoners are held 5 minutes before the rest of the squad. (see Malik's post for description for the standard size and shape of the cells) - There are many dead bodies within the cells, many of them sickly thin. Elcor, Drell, Asari, Turian, Human, and Vorcha. - There are only a handful of prisoners that are alive. They are suffering from severe malnutrition. The cells are locked. - Faint sounds echoes through the area, originating deeper within the prisoner area. A harmony of buzzing.
Esteban's Squad - The team enters into the sizable room (PC for Joseph has description) - Five Collector Drones and one Seeker Swarm are within (considered to be mook level). They spot and attack the moment the team emerges into the room. - The door which Esteban indicated to go through is closed, locked.
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